SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SIGNALING AND DATA TUNNELING IN A PEER-TO-PEER ENVIRONMENT

• US 20110202610A1
• Filed: 08/17/2010
• Published: 08/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Damaka, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Damaka, Inc.
• Inventors: Gundabathula, Satish, Chaturvedi, Sivakumar
• Granted Patent: US 8,874,785 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/26 Route discovery packet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2564 for a higher-layer protocol, e.g. for session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2567 for reachability, e.g. inquiring the address of a correspondent behind a NAT server
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2575 using address mapping retrieval, e.g. simple traversal of user datagram protocol through session traversal utilities for NAT [STUN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2589 over a relay server, e.g. traversal using relay for network address translation [TURN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]

Abstract

An improved system and method are disclosed for peer-to-peer communications. In one example, the method enables an endpoint to use a tunneling server to bypass a network address translation (NAT) device that is blocking messages to an endpoint on the other side of the NAT device.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a peer-to-peer communication session between first and second endpoints, the method comprising:

determining, by a first endpoint, that a first message protocol is not available for use in sending a first message to the second endpoint, wherein the determining identifies that none of a private interface, a public interface, and a relay interface of the first endpoint are available when using the first message protocol, and wherein the private interface corresponds to a local address assigned to the first endpoint by a network address translation (NAT) device in a local network, the public interface corresponds to a public address of the NAT device that represents the first endpoint in networks outside of the local network, and the relay interface corresponds to a reflector located outside of the local network, and wherein the NAT device blocks the first message protocol;

sending, by the first endpoint, a request for a first connection with a tunneling server, wherein the first connection is based on a second message protocol allowed by the NAT device and provides a first tunnel between the first endpoint and the tunneling server;

sending, by the first endpoint, a request to the tunneling server via the first tunnel for at least first and second shadow ports on the tunneling server;

receiving, by the first endpoint, a shadow Internet Protocol (IP) address and the first and second shadow ports from the tunneling server via the first tunnel; and

sending, by the first endpoint, a first message to the second endpoint via the first tunnel.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the connection with the tunneling server uses the public interface of the first endpoint.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

sending, by the first endpoint, a request for a second connection with the tunneling server, wherein the second connection is based on the second message protocol and provides a second tunnel between the first endpoint and the tunneling server; and

sending, by the first endpoint, a third message to the second endpoint via the second tunnel.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the first message contains signaling information and the second message contains media information.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first message protocol is User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and the second message protocol is Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining includes:

sending, by the first endpoint, a third message to a network component that is located on the opposite side of the NAT device from the first endpoint and outside of the local network;

monitoring, by the first endpoint, a timer; and

determining that the first message protocol is not available when the timer expires and no response to the third message has been received by the first endpoint.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

sending, by the first endpoint, a presence message to a third endpoint via the private interface, wherein the presence message includes an identifier corresponding to the private interface and wherein the third endpoint is positioned in the local network;

receiving, by the first endpoint, a response from the third endpoint to the presence message; and

using, by the first endpoint, the private interface as an outbound route to send additional messages to the third endpoint, wherein the outbound route does not go through the tunneling server.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the first endpoint is not aware that the third endpoint is in the local network when sending the presence message.

9. A method for use by a tunneling server in a peer-to-peer hybrid network comprising:

establishing, by the tunneling server, a connection with a first endpoint in response to a connection request from the first endpoint;

receiving, by the tunneling server, a request from the first endpoint for a plurality of shadow ports on the tunneling server;

creating, by the tunneling server, the plurality of shadow ports;

sending, by the tunneling server, a shadow network address and the shadow ports to the first endpoint;

receiving, by the tunneling server, a message from the first endpoint;

extracting, by the tunneling server, a destination network address and a destination port from the message;

determining, by the tunneling server, whether the destination network address matches a network address of the tunneling server; and

sending, by the tunneling server, the message out of the tunneling server to a second endpoint corresponding to the destination network address only if the destination network address does not match the network address of the tunneling server.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

determining, by the tunneling server, whether the destination port is associated with a third endpoint if the destination network address matches the network address of the tunneling server; and

moving, by the tunneling server, the message to a buffer internal to the tunneling server if the destination port is associated with the third endpoint, wherein the buffer corresponds to the endpoint associated with the destination port and the message is not sent out of the tunneling server.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising sending, by the tunneling server, a notification message to the first endpoint that the message cannot be delivered if the destination network address matches the network address of the tunneling server and the destination port is not associated with an endpoint.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising dropping, by the tunneling server, the message if the destination network address matches the network address of the tunneling server and the destination port is not associated with an endpoint.

13. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

determining, by the tunneling server, that the third endpoint associated with the destination port is communicating with the first endpoint via a tunnel between the third endpoint and the tunneling server; and

releasing, by the tunneling server, the shadow ports created for the first endpoint.

14. The method of claim 9 further comprising sending, by the tunneling server, a notification message to the first endpoint identifying another tunneling server available for use by the first endpoint.

15. An endpoint comprising:

a network interface;

a controller coupled to the network interface; and

a memory coupled to the controller, the memory having a plurality of instructions stored thereon for execution by the controller, the instructions including instructions for;

determining whether a first message protocol is available for use in sending a first message to a second endpoint in a hybrid peer-to-peer network, wherein the determining identifies whether any of a private interface, a public interface, and a relay interface of the first endpoint are available when using the first message protocol, and wherein the private interface corresponds to a local address assigned to the first endpoint by a network address translation (NAT) device in a local network, the public interface corresponds to a public address of the NAT device that represents the first endpoint in networks outside of the local network, and the relay interface corresponds to a reflector located outside of the local network;

establishing a tunnel with a tunneling server that is located outside of the local network using a second message protocol only if the first message protocol is not available for use in sending the first message to the second endpoint;

obtaining a shadow address and a plurality of shadow ports from the tunneling server;

sending the first message to the second endpoint via the tunnel; and

receiving a second message from the second endpoint via the tunnel.

16. The endpoint of claim 15 wherein the instructions for determining include instructions for:

sending a third message to a network component that is located on the opposite side of the NAT device from the first endpoint and outside of the local network; and

determining that the first message protocol is not available when a predefined event occurs and no response to the third message has been received by the first endpoint.

17. The endpoint of claim 15 further comprising instructions for:

sending a presence message to a third endpoint via the private interface, wherein the presence message includes an identifier corresponding to the private interface and wherein the third endpoint is positioned in the local network;

receiving, by the first endpoint, a response from the third endpoint to the presence message via the private interface; and

using, by the first endpoint, the private interface as an outbound route to send additional messages based on the first message protocol to the third endpoint, wherein the outbound route does not go through the tunneling server.

18. The endpoint of claim 15 further comprising instructions for sending the presence message prior to determining whether the first message protocol is available for use.

19. The endpoint of claim 15 further comprising instructions for sending a presence message to the second endpoint via each of the private interface, public interface, and relay interface and wherein the determining is based on whether a response is received to the presence message sent via the relay interface.

20. The endpoint of claim 15 wherein the first message protocol is User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and the second message protocol is Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).